The invention relates to methods of using serum factors having inflammation-inhibitory activity, for example, for reducing inflammation (e.g., autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, and sepsis).
Autoimmune diseases are a serious problem. An estimated 2.1 million people in the United States are affected by rheumatoid arthritis, and an estimated one million are affected by inflammatory bowel disease. Additionally, severe sepsis (or septic shock) is one of the most important complications in non-coronary intensive care units. Despite new insights into the pathology of sepsis and the development of new antibiotics, the incidence of severe sepsis has increased in the last decades (Casey et al., Ann. Intern. Med. 119:771-778, 1993). The development of new treatment strategies has been disappointing, as is demonstrated by the continued high mortality (40-60%) (Casey et al., Ann. Intern. Med. 119:771-778, 1993, Balk et al., Dis. Mon. 50:168-213, 2004; Brun-Buisson et al., J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 274:968-974, 1995).
Thus there is a need for identification of factors that cause and/or inhibit inflammation responses, for example those caused by autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease) and sepsis, and to identify methods of treatment for such diseases.